Magnetic latch



Oct. 1, 1968 LE ROY J. Rossow 3,403,933

MAGNETIC LATCH Filed Dec. l5, 1966 United States Patent O 3,403,933MAGNETIC LATCH Le Roy J. Rossow, 857 Rice St., St. Paul, Minn. 55117Filed Dec. 15, 1966, Sel'. No. 602,037 6 Claims. (Cl. 292-2515) Thisinvention relates to a magnetic latch, and more particularly, relates toa self-aligning magnetic latch adapted to be mounted on the exterior ofa refrigerator.

Often times, in the repair of older model refrigerators, a replacementlatch is necessary to provide for proper closing of the refrigerator.The serviceman, in servicing older model refrigerators, is often facedwith attempting to repair a handle in that replacement parts have longsince become unavailable. This repair is often costly but must becarried out to properly service the refrigerator for eflicientoperation. The mechanics of the refrigerator, except for the mechanicallatch, are such that the life of the refrigerator is almost indefinite.Consequently, many makes and models of older refrigerators are presentlyin use and in need of closures which will tightly close the units toprovide proper efliciency. However, the serviceman who deals inrefrigerator repair cannot possibly stock replacement handles for all ofthe makes and models which he may be called upon to repair and, ofcourse, many of the latches are no longer available.

Although universal-type latches have been developed as replacement partsfor obsolete refrigerator latches, many a-re not truly universal, andothers are extremely difficult to install and require special tools.Other of the universal-type latches presently available are not onlycostly, but unless meticulously installed do not provide proper closureof the refrigerator door and, consequently, do not provide for optimumefficiency of the refrigerator on which the latch is installed.

With these comments in mind, it is to the elimination of these and otherdisadvantages to which the present invention is directed, along with theinclusion therein of other novel and desirable features.

An object of my invention is to provide a new and improved magneticlatch for exterior mounting on refrigerators, which latch is of simpleand inexpensive construction and operation.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel magnetic latchwhich is self-aligning thereby compensating for variances in the door ofthe refrigerator and permitting optimum closure of the door.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of an improved andnovel magnetic latch for exterior mounting on refrigerators which may bemounted on rightor left-hand doors `and which may be mounted on the topor side of the unit.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of an improvedmagnetic latch which may rbe quickly and eiiiciently installed by aperson of minimum skill or manual dexterity.

An additional object of my invention is the provision of an improvedmagnetic latch which may be installed on any existing refrigerator orfreezer, a latch which is not mechanical and therefore not subject tobreakdown of wearing parts and a latch which includes a cooperatinghousing which not only matches most refrigerators or freezers but whichcontributes to the eiciency of the latch.

These and other objects and Vadvantages of my invention will more fullyappear from the following description made in connections with theaccompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to thesame or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic sketch showing a typical usage of my magneticlatch;

3,403,933 Patented Oct. 1, 1968 FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic sketch showingan additional typical usage of my magnetic latch;

FIG. 3 is a front View of the magnetic latch of my invention showninstalled on a refrigerator having the door closed and with the latchhousing broken away for clarity;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken Ialong the line 6--6 of FIG. 3.

One form of the present invention is shown in the drawings and isdescribed herein. The magnetic latch of my invention is shown in FIG. 1and is indicated, in general, by numeral 10. The latch 10 is shownattached to a refrigerator, indicated in general by numeral 11. Latch 10comprises a striker plate assembly 10a shown attached to a refrigeratordoor 11a and cooperating magnetic unit 10b shown attached to thestationary box portion 11b of refrigerator 11. Another type ofinstallation is shown in FIG. 2 with the magnetic latch 10 attached torefrigerator 12 on top of the unit rather than on the side of therefrigerator as in refrigerator 11. The striker plate assembly 10a ismounted on door 12a of refrigerator 12 and the magnet unit 10b ismounted on the top stationary panel 12b of refrigerator 12. It should benoted that my magnetic latch may be attached to the side of a rightorleft-hand opening door and may be attached to the top of a right- |orleft-hand opening door without any adjustment whatsoever to the magneticlatch at either the striker plate assembly 10a or the magnet unit 10b.

ln FIG. 3, the magnetic latch 10 is shown attached to a refrigerator inthe closed position. It should be noted that the magnetic latch does notinterfere with the door seal and is mounted on the exterior of therefrigerator. The striker plate assembly comprises a door mountingbracket 13 having three openings 14 therein whereby mounting screws 15may be received for attachment to the door 11a. Bracket 13 is U-shapedand includes outwardly projecting, opposed parallel flanges 16 adaptedto receive striker plate 17. Striker plate 17 is pivotally mounted onflanges 16 of door mounting bracket 13 by rivets 18 providing pivotalmovement to striker plate 17 about an axis which is parallel to thestriker plate 17. Striker plate 17 is essentially U-shaped and includesflanges 19 which mate with flanges 16 of the door mounting bracket formounting thereto. The striker plate and ydoor mounting bracket aretypically formed from a hot rolled, zinc-plated steel. Striker plateassembly housing 20 is detachably mounted on the striker plate `doormounting bracket surrounding bracket 13 and covering it as well asmating with the door 11a of the refrigerator 11. The housing 20 isdeta-chably mounted by a press fit relation with rivets 18 and thehousing 20 is open to expose strike-r plate 17. The housing isconstructed from a molded irnpact-resistant plastic.

The magnet unit 10b is shown mounted to the stationary box portion 11bof refrigerator 11. It should be noted that door 11a is tightly closedby the latch 10 properly engaging seal 21 between the door 11a andstationary box portion 11b. The magnet unit comprises a magnet unitmounting plate 22 which is angulated at panel 23 to provide an offsetportion spaced apart from stationary box portion 11b. The magnet unitmounting plate includes slotted openings 24 which receive screwassemblies 25 therein. The slots are oriented with the longitudinal axissubstantially lnormal to the door opening of stationary box 11b toprovide movement forwardly toward the door opening or rearwardly fromthe door opening to provide proper alignment of the magnet unit relativeto the striker lplate assembly. Magnet unit mounting plate 22 includes amagnet-receiving portion 26 which receives magnet 27 with an outer pole28 and an inner pole 28a sandwiching the magnet therebetween. A rivet Z9secures pole-s 28 and 28a with magnet 27 therebetween together and ontothe magnet-receiving portion 26 of magnet unit mounting plate 22. Itshould be noted that offset portion 23 of magnet unit mounting plateI 22positions the magnetreceiving portion away from the outer wall ofstationary box 11b a distance indicated by the dimension X. Housing 30is constructed of an impact-resistant molded plastic and covers themagnet assembly and magnet unit mounting plate and is secured to themagnet unit mounting plate at the upright flange 31 as by screwassemblies 32. The housing covers the unit and is flush with thestationary box 11b while exposing forward edge portions 33 vand 33a ofpoles 28 and 28a, respectively, to mate with striker plate 17. Poles 28and 28a are typically constructed of a cold rolled steel and are zincplated. The magnet unit mounting plate is aluminum and therefore doesnot affect the forces of magnet 27 which is constructed from a rubberwhich is impregnated with barium ferrite. The rivet 29 is aluminum topermit optimum efficiency of the magnet 27.

Referring to FIG. 4, housing 30 includes shoulder 34 which engages innerpole 28a retaining the magnetic pole 28a away from the refrigerator 11bso that poles 28 and 28a efficiently contact striker plate 17 withmaximum force. Further, shoulder 34 prevents flexing of the magnet unitmounting plate 22 at offset portion 23 from the force of the poles 28and 28a generated by the traction of the door 11a or stationary box 11bfor the magnetic poles. This, of course, Iprevents any bending action atoffset plate 23 thereby eliminating metal fatigue at that point. Itshould be noted that housing 30 converges a dimension indicated by Y sothat shoulders 34 are snugly positioned under inner magnetic pole 28aproperly spacing inner pole 28a away from the refrigerator 11 under allconditions.

In operation, the magnetic latch of my invention may be installed on arefrigerator accurately and for optimum operation with a maximum ofease. The striker plate assembly a is first attached to the door of therefrigerator. The striker plate assembly is attached to the door withthe striker plate 17 parallel with the door opening. The door mountingbracket 13 is positioned on the side of the door and a hole is drilledinto the door 11a at the middle opening 14 of door mounting bracket 13.Sc-rew 15 is then assembled thereto so that the strike-r plate may pivotsomewhat about screw 15. The striker plate assembly is located midwaybetween the top and bottom of the door on which it is attached. Next,magnet unit 10b, with housing 30 removed, is positioned on the door withthe forward edges 33 and 33a of inner and outer magnetic poles 28 and28a in contact with striker plate 17. The door is now closed tightlywith seal 21 properly positioned between door 11a and stationary box11b. The magnet unit mounting plate is then secured to the stationarybox 11b by drilling into the refrigerator stationary box 11b at themiddle opening 24 of the magnet unit mounting plate 22. The middle screwassembly is then secured tightly thereon and the alignment of the matingsurfaces of the striker plate 17 against edges 33 and 33a of poles 28and 28a, respectively, are set such that there is a straight and flushcontact therebetween. Of course, the striker plate 17 will align itselfabout pivots 18 to provide an axis of rotation parallel to the dooropening such that the straight and flush contact between striker plate17 and pole edges 33 and 33a is achieved in spite of poor alignment ofdoor 11a. The door mounting bracket may be slidably moved forwardly orrearwardly in slotted holes 24 for obtaining maximum closing effectbetween door 11a and stationary box 11b. Finally, screw assemblies 15are assembled to door 11a completing the attachment of door mountingbracket 13 thereto; and screw assemblies 25 are attached to station- Cilary box 11b completing the assembly of the magnet unit mounting plate tothe stationary box. Striker plate assembly housing 20 is then press fitonto the rivets 18 of bracket 13 and housing 30` is slid onto the magnetunit 10b with shoulders 34 positioned between lower pole 28a and thestationary box 11b such that the poles 28 and 28a are not drawn towardthe refrigerator but rather drawn to the striker plate 17. This, ofcourse, prevents metal fatigue at the offset portion 23 of magnet unitmounting plate 22 which would be caused if the magnetic forces weredrawn toward the refrigerator. The housing 30 is then assembled to theflange 31 of magnet unit mounting plate 22 by screw assemblies 32.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided an externalmagnetic latch which may be attached to refrigerators, whether rightorleft-hand opening and whether top or side mounted. Further, the magneticlatch of my invention is self-aligning and is so designed that themagnetic forces are directed toward the striker plate rather than towardthe refrigerator. Further, the housing on the magnet unit of my magneticlatch is so designed that the offset aluminum mounting bracket is notflexed and therefore does not break down under repeated use.Consequently, there is a minimum of moving parts and the magnetic latchlife is therefore indefinite. No special tools are required to assemblemy magnetic latch to a refrigerator and, further, my magnetic latch maybe properly assembled to a refrigerator by a person of minimum skill ormutual dexterity. The operation of attaching my magnetic latch is suchthat an optimum installation Imay be obtained by one installing thelatch with no previous experience. My magnetic latch is adjustable toprovide varying degrees of tightness between the door and the stationarybox and the self-aligning feature of the striker plate provides optimumclosure each time.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various partswithout departing from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A magnetic latch adapte-d to be attached to the exterior of arefrigerator, the refrigerator having a stationary box and a doorattached thereto swingably mounted for positioning between an open andclosed position, said magnetic latch comprising a striker plateassembly, said striker plate assembly comprising a door mounting bracketadapted to be afiixed to the swingable door of the refrigerator, saiddoor mounting bracket having outwardly projecting striker platereceiving fianges attached thereto,

a striker plate, said striker plate having flanges projecting outwardlytherefrom affixed to the flanges of said door mounting bracket wherebysaid striker plate is positioned substantially parallel with the edge ofthe swingable door of the refrigerator, and

a magnet unit, said magnet unit 'comprising a magnet unit mounting plateadapted to `be affixed to the stationary box of the refrigerator, saidmagnet unit mounting plate having a magnet receiving plate attachedthereto and spaced apart therefrom by an offset plate portion wherebythe magnet receiving plate is spaced apart from the stationary door ofthe refrigerator a predetermined distance and a magnet having polesthereon affixed to the magnet receiving plate, the poles positionedwhereby the poles cooperate with said striker plate in the closedposition of the swingable door relative to the stationary box of therefrigerator, thereby maintaining the swingable door of the refrigeratorin closed position and whereby the magnetic forces of said magnet aredirected toward said striker plate and away from the refrigerator in theopen position of the door relative to the stationary box of therefrigerator.

2. The magnetic latch of claim 1 wherein said striker plate s pivotallyattached to said door mouting bracket whereby said striker plate rotatesabout an axis substantially parallel with the edge of the door of therefrigerator thereby aligning said striker plate relative to the p-olesof said magnet in the closed position ofthe swingable door relative tothe stationary tbox of the refrigerator.

3. The magnetic latch of claim 1 wherein said magnet unit mounting plateincludes a plurality of elongate openings having a longitudinaldimension substantially normal of the edge of the swingable door of therefrigerator thereby providing movement of said magnet unit mountingplate forwardly toward the door and rearwardly away from the doorwhereby the magnetic force of said magnet mounted on said magnet unitmounting plate relative to said striker plate may be adjusted.

4. The magnetic latch of claim 1 including a striker plate assemblyhousing detachably mounted on said striker plate assembly and a magnetunit housing affixed on said magnet unit.

`5. The magnetic latch of claim 4 wherein said magnet unit housingincludes shoulders aixed thereon and positioned between the stationarybox of the refrigerator and the magnet receiving plate of said magnetunit mounting plate whereby the magnetic force of said magnet aredirected toward said striker plate and away from the refrigerator in theopen position of the door relative to the stationary box of therefrigerator.

6. The magnetic latch of claim 5 wherein said magnet unit housingconverges whereby the shoulders thereof are snugly positioned betweenthe stationary box of the refrigerator and the magnet receiving plate ofsaid magnet unit mounting plate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,261,631 7/1966 Alessi 292-25153,287,051 11/1966 Anderson 292-2515 BERNARD A. GILHEANY, PrimaryExaminer.

G. HARRIS, Assistant Examiner.

1. A MAGNETIC LATCH ADAPTED TO BE ATTACHED TO THE EXTERIOR OF AREFRIGERATOR, THE REFRIGERATOR HAVING A STATIONARY BOX AND A DOORATTACHED THERETO SWINGABLY MOUNTED FOR POSITIONING BETWEEN AN OPEN ANDCLOSED POSITION, SAID MAGNETIC LATCH COMPRISING A STRIKER PLATEASSEMBLY, SAID STRIKER PLATE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A DOOR MOUNTING BRACKETADAPTED TO BE AFFIXED TO THE SWINGABLE DOOR OF THE REFRIGERATOR, SAIDDOOR MOUNTING BRACKET HAVING OUTWARDLY PROJECTING STRIKER PLATERECEIVING FLANGES ATTACHED THERETO, A STRIKER PLATE, SAID STRIKER PLATEHAVING FLANGES PROJECTING OUTWARDLY THEREFROM AFFIXED TO THE FLANGES OFSAID DOOR MOUNTING BRACKET WHEREBY SAID STRIKER PLATE IS POSITIONEDSUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WITH THE EDGE OF THE SWINGABLE DOOR OF THEREFRIGERATOR, AND A MAGNET UNIT, SAID MAGNET UNIT COMPRISING A MAGNETUNIT MOUNTING PLATE ADAPTED TO BE AFFIXED TO THE STATIONARY BOX OF THEREFRIGERATOR, SAID MAGNET UNIT MOUNTING PLATE HAVING A MAGNET RECEIVINGPLATE ATTACHED THERETO AND SPACED APART THEREFROM BY AN OFFSET PLATEPORTION WHEREY THE MAGNET RECEIVING PLATE IS SPACED APART FROM THESTATIONARY DOOR OF THE REFRIGERATOR A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE AND AMAGNET HAVING POLES THEREON AFFIXED TO THE MAGNET RECEIVING PLATE, THEPOLES POSITIONED WHEREBY THE POLES COOPERATE WITH SAID STRIKER PLATEINTHE CLOSED POSITION OF THE SWINGABLE DOOR RELATIVE TO THE STATIONARYBOX OF THE REFRIGERATOR, THEREBY MAINTAINING THE SWINGABLE DOOR OF THEREFRIGERATOR IN CLOSED POSITION AND WHEREBY THE MAGNETIC FORCES OF SAIDMAGNET ARE DIRECTED TOWARD SAID STRIKER PLATE AND AWAY FROM THEREFRIGERATOR IN THE OPEN POSITION OF THE DOOR RELATIVE TO THE STATIONARYBOX OF THE REFRIGERATOR.